


Cry For Help

by hybryd0



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Urban Fantasy, M/M, Minor Violence, preslash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-30
Updated: 2015-05-30
Packaged: 2018-04-01 22:11:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,496
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4036378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hybryd0/pseuds/hybryd0
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Louis knew better than to be out after dark...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cry For Help

**Author's Note:**

  * For [carissima](https://archiveofourown.org/users/carissima/gifts).



> Just a little gift for Maggie. Uh surprise? I'm sure this isn't at all what you thought about when you posted those au prompts on tumblr and asked for Lilo. As usual, my muse went completely wild with it. Thank you to [parisienneheart](http://archiveofourown.org/users/parisienneheart) and [ SolariaLunar21 ](http://archiveofourown.org/users/SolariaLunar21)for looking over it for me <3
> 
> Loosely based off of this prompt:  
> “it’s the middle of the night and i’m walking home alone in the dark and there’s this guy following me and he’s starting to gain on me and i found this phone booth with a lock on the door and i tried to call my best friend but my hands were shaking so badly i accidentally dialed the wrong number and i don’t even know you but help me” au

Louis knows better than to be out after dark, but he’d actually been researching for a paper he needed to write. He’d had his earbuds in and music up too loud to hear the warning sirens and by the time he’d realized what time it was it was already dark outside. 

The worst part is he’d planned to be home before the sun even started to set, so he’d left his machete in his room. The walk to the flat he shares with three of his mates isn’t really that far, but it’s far enough in the dark of the night when the Nightsiders are out. And he doesn’t have the money to hire a Guardian to walk him home.

He curses his awful luck and picks up his pace.

As he passes an alleyway Louis hears footsteps fall in behind him. His pulse jumps into a gallop and he starts to walk faster. The footsteps behind him speed up as well, but just enough to keep pace; he can tell they’re not getting any closer. Which he finds strange since every Nightsider is faster than a human could ever hope to be.

A sick feeling grows in the pit of his stomach. It’s toying with him.

“Loooouis,” he hears from behind him in a chilling semblance to his mother’s voice.

He’s honestly never been more terrified in his life. He’s running before he even thinks about it, blind panic overriding everything else. He can hear the thing behind him following, a twisted version of his mother’s laugh making his heart pound even harder.

He spots a phone booth across the street and puts every last bit of strength his has into his legs as he turns and heads for it. Behind him the creature is cackling and he can feel it right on his heels. At the last second he slips his backpack off one shoulder and swings around with all his might to strike a surprise blow to the creature. He doesn’t wait to see if it had any effect, just throws himself into the phone booth and slams it shut, latching it closed.

Louis’ legs buckle under him and he collapses to the floor, dragging in ragged breaths as he listens to the Nightsider hissing and growling outside. He jumps when the creature slams against the locked door and scoots to curl into the furthest corner. The whole booth rattles with the creature’s attempts to get inside and even in his panic Louis knows it won’t hold up for very long against the Nightsider’s strength.

With shaky hands, Louis digs out his phone. He’s trembling too hard to scroll through his contacts, but luckily he’s got Niall’s number memorized. Niall knows Bressie, a Guardian who could possibly save Louis’ life if he can get to him quickly enough.

As soon as he hears the click of the phone of the other end Louis starts babbling. “Niall! I need help, oh god,” the booth creaks ominously under the Nightsider’s continued assault, “I don’t know what to do, please call Bressie, tell him I’m in a phone booth down the street from the library!”

The pounding against the booth intensifies and Louis looks up to see that two more Nightsiders have joined the first. He whimpers in terror and buries his head in his arms. His only hope is that they kill him quickly and not toy with him like the horror stories he’s heard.

The door gives a terrifying groan and Louis tenses, preparing for it to give way and allow the monsters in, but the pounding suddenly stops. He can hear the sounds of a scuffle and lifts his head, expecting to see Bressie’s massive form slaughtering the Nightsiders, but instead he finds someone much smaller, a boy that looks to be only Louis’ age.

The boy has already killed one of the Nightsiders, probably from the element of surprise, and he’s doing battle with the others. Louis watches, entranced, as the boy swings his sword around and kills a second one before dodging back to avoid the last. The remaining Nightsider howls like an enraged beast and lunges at the boy.

The boy swings his sword around, but the Nightsider smacks it to the side at the same time that it gets a hand around the boys throat and barrels them both to the ground. The sword goes skittering away and Louis watches in horror as his would-be-rescuer struggles with the monster, now in need of rescuing himself.

“Oh hell,” Louis hisses, looking from the boy over to the sword.

He creeps out of the phone booth and over to the sword. It’s a stupid move considering Louis has no training with a sword whatsoever, but he can’t just watch his rescuer die right in front of him.

Lifting the sword is easy, but it feels awkward and he knows he has no chance to actually fight with it. He finds his opportunity though as the monster sits up and raises one clawed hand as if to deliver a fatal blow. Louis runs forward and swings for the Nightsider’s neck. The blade slices easily through the monster’s neck and a second later it bursts into fire and ash and then there’s nothing but the sound of heavy breathing as he and the other boy recover.

It only lasts as second before the boy sits up and moves into a crouch. “C’mon, we’re not safe yet. My flat isn’t far.”

It’s a testament to how shaken Louis is that he doesn’t even think twice about following a stranger. They don’t speak again until they’re actually in the boy’s flat. That’s when Louis actually gets to take a good look at his rescuer and he almost groans.

The boy is unfairly good looking. He’s got a fauxhawk that should probably be ridiculous, but actually looks really good on him. It fits the whole sword-wielding aesthetic he has going on. Even if he’s wearing a black pair of joggers and a white vest, which is hardly Nightsider fighting gear.

“Wasn’t expecting a call to fight Nightsiders,” the boy says, motioning to his clothes as he flushes from his cheeks down his throat. “Are you okay?”

Louis nods, then frowns in confusion. “Did Niall call you instead of Bressie?”

“Uh, no mate, you called me,” the boy replies. “I’m Liam by the way.”

“I’m Louis and I called my mate,” Louis says, even more confused. He pulls out his phone, which he somehow remembered to stick in his pocket, and takes a look at his last call. It’s only then that he sees in his terror he screwed up one number. “Oh, sorry. I was trying to call my flatmate, he knows a Guardian, figured it was my only hope.”

“Guess it’s lucky you got me then, even if I’m only a Guardian-in-training,” Liam says as he turns to put his sword away. Louis can’t help but watch the flex and stretch of Liam’s muscles across his shoulders.

“Lucky indeed,” Louis murmurs more to himself than anything else.

“That last one almost did me in though, my mentor will be disappointed I let myself be disarmed like that,” Liam goes on, oblivious to the mini-crisis Louis is having about his rescuer being basically the hottest boy he’s ever laid eyes on. As Liam turns back around, Louis schools his features into something less hungry. “Anyway, you can sleep here for the night if you’d like.”

“No reason to risk anyone else’s life for me,” Louis says. 

Liam nods and then disappears for a moment before coming back with a pillow and some blankets. “You can take my bed if you’d like, I’ll sleep on the couch.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Liam. I’ll sleep on the couch,” Louis says and takes the bedding before Liam can protest. “It’s a bit early for sleep though, isn’t it?”

Liam motions towards his telly, which Louis notices for the first time is paused with what looks like one of the new Batman movies on it. “Was gonna have a Batman night. I’ve got some leftover pizza and cold beer if you’re interested.”

Louis agrees and feels his stomach swoop at the grin that blooms across Liam’s face. The boy must be a bloody menace, Louis reckons. He watches as Liam disappears into what must be the kitchen and settles himself on the couch.

“Cold pizza or heat it up?” Liam calls from the other room.

“Cold is fine,” Louis shouts back.

As Louis waits for Liam to return he makes a quick call to Niall just to let him know he’s somewhere safe. Niall chews him out for a full minute, which Louis takes because he knows it’s more from fear than anything else. They end the call with Niall telling him to bring Liam around for a thank-you-for-saving-my-dumb-best-mate dinner, which Louis agrees to easily enough. After all, he’s really kinda hoping this won’t be the last he sees of Liam.

**Author's Note:**

> come say hi on [tumblr](http://multishippinfool.tumblr.com) :)


End file.
